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This all began when Damien and I were invited to the H&M Conscious Event at Kidzania last April 15, 2016. Thanks again for inviting us, Miss Cathy David! 🙂 It was a fun-filled event and the location was at Kidzania in BGC.

There were so many activities for the kids 🙂 Damien made a bracelet using old t-shirt cloth and also decorated pots for his very own plant. I loved how H&M made the kids aware of recycling and green living.

After the activities, the kids could freely roam around Kidzania. I was NOT expecting it to be like this at all. I really thought it was just a huge playground where the kids can just play in different make believe shops, hospitals, etc. Oh it was so much MORE than just that.

Before we entered Kidzania, Damien was already given a check from BPI for 50 Kidzos (the currency used in Kidzania). He encashed it and now he has 50 Kidzos in his hands to be budgeted wisely. Haha!

So apparently, the kids need to “work” to be given a salary! OMG. How fun is that??? For Damien’s first job, he chose to work at the Holiday Inn. He was given a choice to be part of catering, housekeeping or reception. Guess what he chose??? HOUSEKEEPING. LOL!

He was given tasks like put two bottles of mineral water on the table, fold blankets and fix pillows, place slippers by the closet, etc. Look at him clean up the hotel room so nicely!!! That’s my boy!!! Oh and parents aren’t allowed inside so I couldn’t coach him much. Haha!

And so he got his first “sweldo” here. Hahaha!!! ALIW.

His next job was making burgers in Mcdonald’s. For some jobs, instead of earning a salary, they have to pay a fee in Kidzos. I guess it’s because they get to take home the burgers they make. Look at the kids making their own burgers! So cute!!!

He wanted to be a construction worker next. I love how the Kidzania staff are so helpful and patient teaching the kids what to do. They must love kids.

Damien also worked in a Shell Gas Station.

And that ends our first visit to Kidzania… Damien was like “I’ll be back.”

A week after, we came back with his best bud and cousin, Caleb 🙂

Time to go to the bank and encash those precious checks!

For their first job, they decided to work in a pharmaceutical. Caleb was so excited! 🙂 He told me that this was his favorite!

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Then they wanted to be firefighters 🙂 They started off with a brief discussion on what to do when there was a fire.

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Suddenly there was a loud alarm! There was an emergency!!! So they rode the firetruck and had to extinguish the fire in a hotel! OMG, how exciting!!! Pati ako nataranta sa fire!!!

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CSI was up next.

They were trained to part of KZPD. Hehe 🙂 It was so cool because while another batch of firefighters were busy with saving the hotel from burning down, they were the cops who kept everyone safe and away from the fire 🙂

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This is probably Damien’s favorite establishment… LOL! The Coca-Cola Bottling Plant. Haha! They get to bottle their very own Coke bottle 🙂

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They also had the chance to work in a hospital…

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…and Cebu Pacific as a pilot and flight attendant. They had a good flight.

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Another favorite establishment was LBC.

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They had to pick some packages and push a trolley around Kidzania.

The kids also worked in a gym. And while Damien was on his stationary bicycle, he kept saying, “look at me, Mama, I’m in Electric Studio!” Bwahahahaha!

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And finally their shift was almost done. In Kidzania, there are two shifts. One is 9am to 2pm and the second shift is 3pm to 8pm 🙂 We did the first shift and when it almost time, they decided that their last activity was going to be dancing in the Kidzania Parade 🙂 Could the costumes be any more colorful??? LOL!

They had to rehearse for the parade and they danced around Kidzania. I could hear Damien saying before the parade, “This is like the parade in Disneyland!!! This is gonna be EPIC!” HAHAHA!!! A dream come true… for me 🙂 Haha! My closest friends know that working in Disneyland is my dream job.

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And that ends our trip down Kidzania lane. This was probably one of the highlights of the boys’ summer vacation, even mine. They already go back to school but I’m really so happy I was able to take them to Kidzania together. Not only did they learn how to be firefighters and pilots but they also learned how to work together, how to accomplish tasks given to them and the value of earning and saving their Kidzos.

How I wish we had something like this when I was a kid. Although my cousins and I had our own version of Kidzania back then. Shout out to my cousins, Billie, Crissy and Valerie for playing with me when we were kids. We also had our own restaurants, bazaars with play money, airplanes, schools, even churches (LOL! Remember the Haw Flakes as “props”???). So I guess this is the same thing only much much fancier. Haha!

So grateful for this friendship… More adventures to come, boys. So much more to come! 🙂

Today I’m thankful for the pleasure of doing my friend’s family’s makeup for their dear brother’s wedding 😀 To Tita Nena, Tita Carrie, Lala and Vic, thank you from the bottom of my smokey heart! Wishing Vic and Miggy a lifetime of love and laughter 😀🙏 And thank you, Lala, for the delicious pork buns from Tim Ho Wan ❤️ You all look so beautiful as always 😍

One of my mother’s friends recommended this restaurant in Osaka. It’s called “M” or Matsusakagyu Yakiniku. Must-visit daw when in Osaka. So dito pa lang sa Manila, nagpa-reserve na kami, table for five. Thanks to their online reservation. And thanks also to Dante for booking 😀 I believe they only have seven tables.

So we made it to our 6pm reservation. Hehe! Di kami naligaw. Yes, thanks again to our tour guide, Dante 😂 Well, at first when we got there, litong lito sila kung sino ba kami?! We said reservation under “Cantada” (my maiden name). Wala daw. Baka daw we’re reserved in another branch. But no, sure si Mother na ito yung branch 😂 Medyo ninerbyos ako kasi OMG, gutom na kami 😂
But anyway, to make the long story short, the reservation was under “Dizon”. LOL.

So according to Kuni, the owner slash chef slash taga-explain ng menu slash new friend ni Dante on Facebook, this was their bestseller, the Matsusaka Beef DX Platter 😀

So there it was… A plate full of perfectly sliced raw meat 😍

Look at that marbled meat… They say it’s even better than wagyu beef.

So Kuni helped us out 😀 he started by spreading this block of what seemed to be like butter but was actually fat 😂 OMG and my dad thought that it was some kind of appetizer 😂 he almost ate it! Hahahahaha! Buti na lang, he asked me first what it was and I’m like “I have no idea!” 😂😂😂

We also ordered some garlic rice to go with our beef platter. Soooo good!

It also came with some mushrooms, veggies and corn. Damien loves corn 😀

So there it was… Soft, tasty, melts-in-your-mouth beefy goodness. Oh my. If beef were marshmallows, this would be it. Hahaha! Labo?! 😂 But you’ll know exactly what I mean.

We all had a great time here in M. Definitely a must when in Osaka 😍 Winner siya!

Thank you, Kuni, for accommodating us! See you again soon for sure 😉🙏 Hopefully no more confusion with reservation names 😂 LOL!

We went to the branch called M Hanare at the 2/F Daruma Building, Namba, Chuo-Ku, Osaka City. Make sure you go to the right branch. LOL!

Get ready for all my #missingOsaka posts. Haha! I so miss Japan and being with my family! Cannot wait for the next trip. Luckily, we all got a 5-year visa! Hooray! So we’re already planning our next trip. Haha!

We enjoyed Osaka so much. Food trip siya talaga. I really didn’t shop much but eat… oh yes. You can enter any restaurant here and for sure masarap yung food! So yes, we entered this restaurant because we saw pictures of one of our favorites… Karaage!!! Also lots of pics of chickens on their walls.

Everything in their menu was Japanese and no one really spoke in English, so I apologize I don’t know what this restaurant is called nor the exact address. Haha! I am so useless sorry. Haha!

Thankfully all their menus always have photos which is a lifesaver! So I got my favorite, the katsu chicken with curry of course. Hehe… It was 824 Yen which is around Php 321.00. Not bad at all!!!

I am also so glad that Damien loves Japanese food as well. It’s not hard to feed him here. Unlike when we were in Hongkong, all he ate was fried rice. LOL!

Photo muna with my parents 🙂

Hungry na! LOL!

Dante’s order came first. Karaage! So good!!! And their dipping sauce was perfect with the chicken 🙂

And here’s my order, chicken katsu curry! LOVE.

My parents got the chicken with egg over rice dish 🙂 My friend, Isabel, said it’s called Oyako-don. “Oya” means parent and “ko” means child… So the chicken is the parent? and the egg is the child? LOL.

There was no kiddie meal in this restaurant but Damien got his favorite… Chicken Tonkatsu 🙂

That one last breath before I devour my meal. Hahaha! Bumebwelo lang 🙂

Last week, I finally received my very first 13 Lucky Monkey t-shirt! 🙂 I’ve been wanting one for sooooo long. Thanks so much for sparing me one, Mr. Lucky Monkey! Hahaha! I know I wanted a size small but it was reserved for someone else so the large will do! Because if I don’t take this, I may never have one EVER. LOL!!! Kidding! These shirts were made by our friends from Good Government (Instagram: @goodgovernment) So sorry for what I’m about to do to your awesome t-shirt…

Ok, so here’s the large tee 🙂 I would wear this shirt as is for sure and maybe just fold the sleeves. But I wanted to do something different with it. I know some of my friends have been doing this for years, cutting up oversized t-shirts and turning them into something new. So I decided to try it out with this 13 Lucky Monkey t-shirt.

So I got one of my favorite tank tops so that it would be easier for me to cut the shirt. This one is from Be.Everyday, a local brand that I was so happy to discover during the Whitespace Pop Up earlier this year. Check out more of their cool tank tops at their Instagram account: @be.everyday.ph 🙂

So using chalk, I just traced the sleeves and made the armhole just a little bit bigger so that I can use this shirt over my sports bra when I go indoor cycling. Yessss 🙂 Hahaha! Arte.

You can cut the shirt using any ordinary scissors but I used the largest one I had so that there will less zigzags when I cut.

Then you can just fold the shirt in the middle to make sure both sides are equally cut. Then just smoothen the edges 🙂

Looking good 🙂

Now to cut the bottom part. Again I traced it with chalk.

Then cut…

My Be.Everyday shirt is shorter in the front than the back. So I just followed the pattern 🙂

Here’s another late post during my Baguio birthday weekend 🙂 This was our first meal when we arrived in Baguio and we were HUNGRY. What better way to celebrate four to five hours on the road with a big hearty meal in Rose Bowl 🙂

It was my first time to eat here as far as I can remember. Apparently, Rose Bowl has been open since 1945! Wow! Classic na pala to… 🙂

And so our meal begins. I needed my century egg fix.

Damien only eats fried chicken at Chinese restaurants. The servings are huge!

And my all time favorite in any Chinese restaurant, my sweet and sour pork. Loved their version of this.

I’m not a vegetable girl… (I know, I should eat veggies!) but Dante loves his vegetables so he ordered a plate full of green stuff. Chopsuey. Okay, okay, it was pretty good! Fine, I’ll have some veggies.

And of course a bowl of fried rice! Oh yeah! 🙂 Definitely a rice girl.

This was such a great welcome meal! Haha! Big servings and really good comfort food! 🙂

During my birthday weekend (which was months ago. Haha! I know, I haven’t updated my blog in so long! I missed going on road trips with Dante and Damien and was looking through photos and came across these.) my little family and I celebrated up in the mountains… In the beautiful Baguio City. I don’t remember the last time I was here. But it’s still as lovely and as cool as I remember. Just a little more traffic this time 🙂

As soon as we’ve settled down in Baguio and checked in at our hotel room, we wanted to have a little snack and some hot chocolate 🙂 With a little help from my bestfriend, Miss Waze, we found Choco-late de Batirol, just so close from The Manor Hotel.

Damien found the best table in the house! 🙂

Like a boss.

According to the menu, “Choco-late de Batirol is a hot, thick, bittersweet blend, with a distinctive texture that calms your nerves and enriches your soul. It’s an ancient choco-late concoction with no preservatives.” So I ordered a cup of almond hot chocolate and Dante got the traditional blend. I love anything with almonds 🙂

So while waiting for our orders, Damien and I went around first to “explore”.

Loving the vibe. I’m not really a nature girl but it’s nice to be outdoors once in a while, basta malamig. Haha! 🙂

This was one of the best birthday weekends ever 🙂 This post is so late and I’m already close to my next birthday (ok, exagg!) but I still remember how fun this weekend was, just drinking hot chocolate with my two boys, the cool breeze and the smell of horses. LOL! 🙂 More from our Baguio getaway soon 🙂